Lorises face tremendous threat from capture for the illegal exotic pet trade. They are subjected to terrible living conditions, illness and malnutrition, and often have their teeth pulled without anesthetic to avoid bites before being sold illegally. Lorises often die in street markets or while being smuggled out of their home country.
Popular Internet pictures and videos show lorises as pets behaving in ways their owners find “cute,” such as tickling, but the behaviors are reactions to stress and fear; attempting to generate venom from their glands to defend themselves.
Popular practice in busy tourist destinations in southeast Asian countries is to have lorises for tourists to hold for photos, while the loris’ large nocturnal eyes are subjected to bright city lights and causes them pain.
This needs to end before this adorable creature is extinct. They are dying for no cause other than entertainment. We need to take a stand to end their struggle, as well as all other exotic animals subjected to the horrific and inhuman exotic pet trade.
